US army turns over border control to Iraqis

The US Army turned over a large stretch of the border separating Iraq from Iran to an American-trained border police force today, for the first time relinquishing control of a sensitive frontier area to the provisional government.

The 210-mile length of frontier running from the edges of Kurdish-controlled territory in the north to a point just southeast of Baghdad is part of a broader effort to give Iraqis more control over their affairs and relieve the US military of the burden of guarding the border.

“They are now controlling the border, we are in oversight mode,” said Lt Col Reggie Allen, commanding officer of the 4th Infantry Division’s 1st Squadron, 10th Cavalry.

Col Michael Moody, the commander of the 4th Infantry’s 4th Brigade, who formally turned over control of the frontier to Iraqi Col Nazim Shareef Mohammed and his 1,178 men, said it was an “important day for the Iraqi people”.

It was the first time that Iraqis have been given complete authority of a border area, leaving the American occupation forces in an advisory role.

“This is a great example of new Iraqi security forces taking control. Each day the border becomes more secure. This is good news for the Iraqi people and the Coalition,” Moody said.

Mohammed, a Kurd, will patrol and run border checkpoints from the city of Darband-i-Khan, 131 miles northeast of Baghdad, to a point near the town of Bard, about 81 miles southeast of the capital. The area encompasses nearly all of Delay province, one of three under the control of the US Army’s 4th Infantry.

“We are unique,” Mohammed said of his force, which includes ethnic Arabs, Kurds and ethnic Turks. “This is an important day for us because we officially take over this highly sensitive border.”

Standing a few yards from the Iranian border, Nazim said “if this experiment is successful in Diyalia province then it is an example for all of Iraq”.